Powerflow Exhaust

[galooph]

After seeing them recommended a few times on here, I've just had a Powerflow stainless system fitted. £350 for a complete system from the turbo back, which is a bargain compared to the cost of a genuine Toyota steel exhaust.

Sounds much better than my old rusty exhaust too!

[Rustinho]

After seeing them recommended a few times on here, I've just had a Powerflow stainless system fitted. £350 for a complete system from the turbo back, which is a bargain compared to the cost of a genuine Toyota steel exhaust.

Sounds much better than my old rusty exhaust too!

Where did you get it done? I need to get mine done before the MOT in late Dec. I got quoted £350 plus VAT at a place in Leek but if there is a place in Stoke-on-Trent it'd be a lot easier for me.

[galooph]

Where did you get it done? I need to get mine done before the MOT in late Dec. I got quoted £350 plus VAT at a place in Leek but if there is a place in Stoke-on-Trent it'd be a lot easier for me.

I tried the Crewe branch at first, but they never got back to me. Ended up going to Leek in the end as Chris always replied quickly! Bit of a trek from Alsager, but I can recommend them. They also do a good selection of 4x4 tyres too, which is good to know - BFG and Kumhos.

[galooph]

Where did you get it done? I need to get mine done before the MOT in late Dec. I got quoted £350 plus VAT at a place in Leek but if there is a place in Stoke-on-Trent it'd be a lot easier for me.

Oh, and mine was £350 including VAT - although I did replace 2 of the studs on the turbo flange to make sure it was an easy job. He said it'd cost more if he had to deal with broken studs.

[Rustinho]

I tried the Crewe branch at first, but they never got back to me. Ended up going to Leek in the end as Chris always replied quickly! Bit of a trek from Alsager, but I can recommend them. They also do a good selection of 4x4 tyres too, which is good to know - BFG and Kumhos.

The Crewe branch were a right bunch of to55ers!

I can't remember exactly what they said but it was something like "we can't be bothered" and "it just isn't worth our while doing it". That was after phoning them and getting lots of vague answers and being told that they couldn't fit me in for at least two or three weeks.

The chap at Leek was brilliant - even down to my apparently odd request to have the exhaust exit through the passenger side rear quarter piece bumper (in a similar fashion to Apache's old truck now owned by oneidadan). Gives me one less thing to scrape when off roading!

What diameter tubing did you get it done in? I didn't ask for the price difference between 2", 2½" and 3".

[HONEST AL]

Is Powerflow the name of the shop/garage ????

Whereabouts in Leek???

[Nkerridge]

£350 is a good price, I paid £500 to a rip off firm in ipswich 5 years ago!!!! It came with a 10 year warranty and the firm went bust a year later, so no more warranty. but its a good system and a great growl

[Rustinho]

Is Powerflow the name of the shop/garage ????

Whereabouts in Leek???

Powerflow is the franchise name. They do the machines/supplies to custom build exhausts at garages that pay for the franchise. From what I've seen/heard they appear to be really good systems at a decent price.

http://www.silver-systems.co.uk/ is the place in Leek that fits them.

They also do the usual kinda stuff like alloy wheels, tyres, etc.

Not handed over any money to Silver Systems yet but I dropped by for them to give the truck a once over when I was asking for a quote for a complete exhaust system (from turbo back). They seem like a decent bunch of folks operating from a small premises down one of the small back streets in Leek. You'd never notice they were there if you weren't looking for them...

[dieselboy]

Powerflow use MIG weld which is usually poor. Take a look at the welds of your system. If you were to cut open the pipe you would see unmelted weld wire pierced through the pipwork into the system.

The silencers of Powerflow systems are not welded, they are pressed.

The grade of stainless Powerflow uses will surface rust.

To keep your warranty valid you need to revisit once per year and have their system health-checked.

£350 sounds expensive. A Hilux system should encompass one silencer before the axle and a pipe run over the axle. Unless they prepared your turbo flange for a fresh pipe they would have gone from the turbo pipe back, not the actual turbo.


Longlife exhausts, however use TIG weld which is the same method used to weld planes together.

The Longlife silencers are made on site and are welded. A Diesel silencer should be packed only with fibreglass and not a wire / fibreglass mix as they coke up and are less effective.

The stainless is T304 which will not rust at all.

Warranty is valid for life, no need to check the system any time. Rubber mounts can fail on any vehicle but rarely do.

System on a Hilux is around £299.

[noobysurfer]

Dieselboy do you know of an exhaust system that is tig welded then?? I'm looking for a stainless one for z v8 preferably with the right growl!!
Cheers, James

[dieselboy]

James try a company called Longlife. All of their work is TIG welded,

http://www.longlife.co.uk/

Have you heard of Turbo Mufflers? IMO they have the nicest sound to accompany V8's!

[Rustinho]

System on a Hilux is around £299.

According to their website it's "from £329" for a "cat back" system, whatever that is. My cats usually sit on the passenger seat in a pet carrier...

My cynical side thinks a fair bit more than £329 but probably comparable to the £350 + VAT I was expecting for the Powerflow system.

Or is the "back box" an extra £150 on top of that?

The only problem with them for me is that I'd have to go to Manchester or Birmingham to get a system.

EDIT: I've just contacted them via their website for a quote for a complete system and explained that I haven't got a clue what "cat back" means, etc!

[dieselboy]

Seems prices have been increased! The system used to be £259 when I worked there. This includes the "back box" but you don't need a rear silencer on our trucks. The free flow silencers used are good enough at silencing compared to the factory systems where they need two.

They will come back and explain as yours doesnt have a cat, the system will start from base of downpipe, or from the flexible coupling. I would bring your cat along and ask them how they plan on completing the job

[gary-r]

t 304 stainless is a very commonly used grade (pots pans sinks etc) - it does corrode, although in a form of pitting rather than rust when in a salty environment like under a car in winter. it is also prone to cracking when hot and being cooled quickly - like under a car in rain.

a better choice is a stainless with an L after the number. eg 316L as used in marine applications. the L grade has a small percentage of molybdenum added which makes it resistant to salt which is what your'e after in a car exhaust.

[dieselboy]

316 is also food grade AFAIK. Never seen any pitting, only the surface turning gold to blue with heat, even after years of use. You can polish up the pipe back to silver / chrome pretty easily even after this time. You get cracks sometimes with manifold pipes as they experience the higher temperatures. Longlife weld rods are 316. I'm not sure of the reasons they use 316 for welding the systems.